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A Woman named Delilah
A Tale of Love ...ah, what? I'm sorry, I am so terribly sleepy. What were you asking? The woman on the cushions? So you can see her too. That is Delilah, one of my greatest allies, and fiercest friends. What? Oh, why wouldn't you be able to see her? That's quite a tale. I guess I have to wake up for this one. It was just before I left for Arn so many years ago. I can see the day so clearly and vividly, even now. The air was crisp, and the woods shook gently with the wind. I was a little over halfway through my journey when I ran into a bit of trouble. Me, barely competent with a blade back then, was still pretty convinced I could easily kill a man. I was dreadfully wrong. I wish I could say I heard them before I saw them, that I was aware of my surroundings, but damn it was such a nice day- nothing could go wrong. Well, a minute later, there I am at sword point, on my knees. Not very heroic, yeah? I was still a pup though, give me credit for staying alive. Bandits, five of them. They wanted my coin purse that wad holding my traveling funds, my pass to Arn, and the future. What? Haha, no, I definitely did not ''hand over the money. Too young and stupid for that. I waited for the second that cold steel barely left my throat before diving backwards and rolling to my feet. I took a crossbow bolt to my shoulder before I could even draw my sword. Let me tell you, crossbows hurt. They also put you on your ass. I was scrambling to get off the path through screaming pain and a barely working sword arm. I rolled into the woods and ran blindly through trees, foot steps loud behind me. Thank the gods that they didn't have another bolt ready, or I'd be gone. I awkwardly took my sword into my left hand, and turned to fight, just before tripping wildly over a tree root and slamming onto my hands and knees. That really hurt. My right side crumpled, and I lay there helpless in pain on the ground. I felt hands on me. My sword was gone first, then my purse. My pack. My food. I lay there crying in pain as a foot kicked me over and over and over. Then- I was falling. ... ... ... HUH?! Sorry. Sorry. It's so hard to keep my eyes open. Where was I? ...the fall? Yeah, the fall. I bashed my head against roots and small trees, and rocks on my way down that hill. My arm though- gods my arm. The bolt broke off in my arm after jamming sideways, and I almost blacked out. But finally, thankfully, the hill came to an abrupt stop at a tree. My side, left side, hit hard against the tree, leaving me staring blankly up at the sky, and the black line that went across my field of vision. What a strange line. I reached up to touch it. A shock. A jolt. I pulled my hand back in surprise, and began stumbling to my feet. An axe was embedded in the tree. Unquala was it a gorgeous axe. I placed my hand on it again, and that's when I heard the voice. Strong, and unrelenting. Fearless. "Free me." Female. I thought I had gone mad. Maybe I did. I put my left hand on the handle again, slowly and gently. Electric. Power. Madness. I heaved. It didn't budge. I tried so hard. The voice was getting more and more frantic. "Help me dammit! GET. ME. ''OUT!" I put my right hand onto the handle. Pain. I clutched it. Agony. And I pulled. Madness. I blacked out. I awoke in a small room, lavish. Cushions and silk. Wine and lilac filled the air, with a hint of leather and blood hidden beneath it. A woman sat across from me on another cushion. Tall, and lithe. Hair blacker than night, and a traveling tunic green as emeralds. She looked at me, before handing me a glass of wine. "You're safe, for now. Relax." I looked at my arm, remembering in horrific detail the wound I had sustained. It wasn't there. My body was neither broken, nor brusied. My clothes clean. The room, without an exit. But panic never set in. Confusion was barely there, trapped under the smell of wine and lilac. It is strange now, but then I was entranced. "I have some business to handle. Please feel free to rest in my absence." The woman stood, and strode to an axe, black as her hair leaned against the wall. The axe I freed from the tree. She vanished. Sleep overtook me. I awoke in a pool of deep red. The black axe now stained red, clutched so tightly in my hands I was sure it was stuck there forever. Carnage. The bandits lay scattered around me. Limbs and heads littering the ground. I threw up. It was the bandits that attacked me, I could recognize one of the heads. But... far too many body part for five people. Too many heads. Too many torsos. Too much blood on me and the axe. Then, the voice again- "Your reward for freeing me. Thank you, Evaerus." And without thinking, without fully knowing why, I replied- "Any time, Delilah." Category:Character lore